No education, no jobs, no homes, no services. This is the bleak future that young people face. We are expected to pay for a crisis caused by the rotten system we live under.

There are currently 1 million 18-14 year olds out of work. This joblessness is a result of the ConDem austerity yet the government tries to punish the unemployed by forcing them to work for their dole. This gives their big business mates the opportunity to get some work done on the cheap.

The cap on tuition fees has been raised to £9,000 a year, pricing many working…

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PCS held a question time session earlier this week with representatives from parties standing around Birmingham. PCS also asked candidates to sign pledges, and unsurprisingly, many of the questions are focused on cuts.

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Birmingham local elections 2012

A report by APF parent Mohammed Ashraf

In the Sparkbrook ward of Birmingham, local election candidates were invited to participate in hustings so that voters could ask them questions. It was disappointing that the Labour and Green party candidates were the only ones to show up and this kind of summed up for me how much they care about this election. A question was put forward with reference to the fact that there are currently 3 schools in Sparkbrook that have been forced to become Academies;

‘Firstly what are your views on academies, and if elected would you support parents and the community if they opposed a forced academy?’

Both candidates were swift to pledge their support if the community felt they didn’t want their schools to become academies and said that they would do their best to challenge an undemocratic decision. They also each gave…

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The clear point that is often missed in current popular debate on education is that our system has lost its way. The existing state system has been failing since the early 1980s and the current process of opting out of the state system involves moving to ad hoc provision with no direction. Some form of alternative manifesto is required.

We are very excited to have been invited to contribute our thoughts and ideas to an innovative project called Edchange2012. The project aims to develop a dialogue in creating an alternative view and manifesto for education in England.

The Edchange2012 group intends to canvas as widely as they can over the next few months to develop, change and add to their ideas. Phil Wood and Joan Smith, both academics at the University of Leicester, will be visiting the Ask Parents First group in June to run a workshop with the APF parents to gather their views on educational futures.

To support the campaign to oppose the privatisation of our leisure services (as advertised in the European Journal), and to work to ensure that no other public services are privatised, outsourced, or mutualised.

To support the campaign to oppose any reduction in local library services (including opening hours)

To support the campaign to oppose any closures in our Children Homes, Nurseries and Sure Start centres

To support the campaign to oppose the reduction in Connexions and Youth Services by working to re-open offices for young people in the areas of highest unemployment and arguing to reinstate pre 2008 funding levels as youth unemployment reaches record levels.

To support the campaign against public service job cuts and to ensure quality public services are…

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Communities Against The Cuts, who are standing candidates in the Kings Norton and Bournville wards for the council elections on May 3rd, are holding a rally and march, followed by a social event on Friday 27th April.

The rally, demonstrating against cuts in the wards concerned and to raise the profile of their candidates, meets at 5:30pm outside Kings Norton Leisure Centre, where speakers will talk about the effect of cuts on local services, before proceeding along the Pershore Road to the Cotteridge Neighbourhood Office, where Stirchley and Cotteridge Against The Cuts began their campaign, and then to the Stirchley Community School to hear about the privatisation of our education services.
The march will finish opposite Stirchley Library, at the group’s campaign offices.

After the rally, they will go across the road to the British Oak for a social event with music and comedy from No More…